Wrexham Births - William ROBERTS

[the_guvnor]

Hi

I'm hoping to find the maiden name of my great grandfather's mother so I'm trying to find a birth record.

My great grandfather was William Roberts and my late uncle gave his date of birth as 20 (or 28 - difficult to read) June 1852 in Rhosllanerchrugog, Ruabon, Wrexham.

My uncle's dates have proved to be not entirely reliable in other cases but the census returns and William's marriage certificate agree with a birth year of 1852 or possibly late 1851/early 1853.

From William's marriage certificate, his father's name was John and he is shown as a smelter.
William himself is shown as 25 years old at this time (29 Sep 1877).

Unfortunately I can find no birth record in Free BMD or NW BMD of a William Roberts birth in the  2nd or 3rd quarters 1852. I have also checked on Ancestry and Findmypast without success.

Findmypast now has an interesting baptism record for a William Roberts in Ruabon in July 1851, born to John and Dorothy Roberts but this seems too early. There are several other William Roberts births in Ruabon and Wrexham just before and after my 'target' time.

So I would appreciate it if someone could look up any other sources for William Roberts births in Rhos for 1851/2/3. I wonder if there are any non conformist records that might hold the answer, for example. Any other hints or suggestions would be welcome too!
 
Many thanks

Dave

[wrjones]

Well Dave its a very difficult one apparently with these common names.Though as you probably know its quite clear that William was the son of a John and Jane Roberts.Given that Jane is the mother of William though it may be worth your while looking at one of the other son's birth certificates.

The one I would suggest going for is Daniel born in 1870.Now he is given as ten months old in the 1871 Census.It seems you are familiar with the North Wales BMD?On that Site you will find a Daniel Roberts given as born in 1870 and given as born in the Ruabon Sub-District.

Of course the object of all this for you is surely to try and identify a marriage for the John and Jane which will have taken place around 1850?With that in mind having looked for such a marriage,I'm afraid it won't be the easiest task whatever Jane's maiden name!

Regards
William Russell Jones.

[the_guvnor]

Thanks for the reply, William.

I'm afraid you're way ahead of me... I wasn't aware that his mother's name was Jane.
I'm sure its clear somehow but can you explain how you are so confident of this?

As you say, looking for Daniel's birth certificate may be the best route. I'll try that next.

Thanks again - you're helping me move forward with this conundrum.

Dave

[wrjones]

Starting with 1881 and going backwards these are the Census entries for the John and Jane Roberts who I think are highly likely to be your William's parents.

1881;RG11/5513/33/12.
1871;RG10/5653/112/6.
1861;RG09/4283/28/8.

Regards
William Russell Jones.

[the_guvnor]

Thanks again, William

I'm pretty sure these are the right Roberts family. I hadn't found them in my searches because I had assumed earlier birth dates for William's siblings.

Armed with this information I had another look on the findmypast Wales collection and found a marriage registry entry for Thomas Roberts and Hannah Thomas in 1879. This is a really good marker as William Roberts and Sarah Ellis' marriage certificate shows their wedding was witnessed by Thomas Roberts and Hannah. On the certificate I bought from NWBMD/Wrexham Records Office it is Hannah Roberts but on the image of the parish register on findmypast it is Hannah Thomas. Either way, I think it clearly links them as close family so I think it validates the census records you found as being the right ones for my ancestors.

I am sending off for a couple of certificates through NWBMD and will let you know what they reveal before showing this thread as complete.

Thanks again

Dave

[wrjones]

No problem Dave,as ever in these things a fresh pair of eyes often helps!

Regards
William Russell Jones.

[the_guvnor]

Wouldn't you know it... I got the certificate back from NWBMD and it turns out that William and Daniel's mother's maiden name was .... Roberts!

I suppose there was a fair chance of that.

Anyway, I've got one generation further back so thanks again for your help. I think this thread can be closed.

Dave